Apparatus for controllably transferring material from one place to another



Jan. 2l, 1930. lA. REDLER 1,744,676

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLBLY TRANSFERRING MATERIAL FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER F1ed.May 27, 1925 A y Mib LA@ Vf www* Patented Jan. 21, 1930 PATENT oFFlJcE ARNOLD EEDLER, or sHARPNEss, ENGLAND APPARATUS FOR CO'NTROLLABLY TRANSFERRING- MATERIAL IFRQM yONE PLACE TO ANOTHER i Application filed` May 27, 1925, Serial N0.33,269, and in Great Britain May 30, 1925.

In the specification of my Patent No, 1,475,596, I describe a conveyor, comprising a casing and a chain-like structure operating therein, according to which the material-under transport coalesces in the openings of the links of the chain whereby the links and a part of the material composing the load jointly form or act as a continuous band supported by the bottom of the casing, the remainder of o the load being carried by this improvised band en masse, i. e., in bulk, to a considerable depth.

The object of my present invention is to utilize and adaptthis conveyor for controllably transferring material from one place to another, typifiable by feeding a machine. or like obj ect, or by discharging a bin or similar object, and to this end the invent-ion resides in the combination with the conveyor, of

means co-operating therewith for regulating the passage of the'material.

These regulating means are, in general, adapted for automatic operation through the agency of a component ofthe apparatus or object with which the conveyor is associated, said component being subject to the reception of the material; but in some applications the operation may be manually accomplished.

The invention is capable of wide applica- 3o tion, and of considerable Variation in its constructive details as will be apparent from the example I will now describe with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate its application to the feeding of an automatic Weighing machine, and whereof Fig. l is a diagrammatic side elevation ,showing the conveyor with the complemental regulating means, and a fragment of the weighing machine; while Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof with the V parts in open position; and

Fig. 3 is a corresponding plan. v

Fig. `4e is a diagrammatic side elevation represent-ing a modification of the construction depicted inthe preceding figures.

Referring, iirst, to' Figs. 1, 2 land 3, the conveyor consists of the chain a traversably mounted on the sprockets f, f positioned within the casing b having the inlet c for the material and the outlet d therefor, the lower run means is such that the downward movement of the chain a co-acting with the floor of the casing Z) and the upper run with a platform 0 likewise arranged within the casing I), all these parts being constructed, arranged and adapted for use and operation as, or substantially as, described in my aforesaid specification, hence further description is unnecessary.

The reference e denotes the weighing maf chine which is in direct communication with the outlet d of the conveyor, and has its weighing-hopper operatively associated with an arm j for actuating the regulating means co-operating with the conveyor chain a, said means consisting of a iiap g fixed to a shaft 'n rotatably mounted on the casing b and carrying also a Weighted-lever h. The armV operates the flap g through the agency of a rod i having its end c slotted to slidably embrace the arm j, and its other end pivoted to one extremity of a lever m whose other extremity is secured' to the shaft n.

The operation is as follows z- The material to be weighed enters the conveyor casing b at c and falls Athrough the im- 75 mediately-adjacent portion of the upper run j of the chain a to the lower run which conveys it to the outlet-cl whereupon it enters the machine e by dropping through the chain when the latter is over the aperture. Thematerial 80 iscarried en masse on the chain a, the height being subject to the regulator flap g and, accordingly, the quantity of the discharge at the outlet d. The action of the regulator of the arm j, under the iniiuence of the loaded weighing-hopper of the machine. e, causes the rod i to swing the lever mlv and so turn the spindle f n sufficiently to' bring the weighted-lever h to the other side of the Vertical relatively to that shown in Fig. 1, and` therefore, the flap g to its extreme loweror closed position. When the load on the weighing-hopper is released or discharged, the arm j rises to the position shown in Fig. 1, thereby raising rod z' and lever m and so turning vspindle n sufiiciently to bring lever h to the posit-ion shbwn in Fig. 1. v

It will now be evident that the Hap g' operates with wiping and blocking actlons rela- 10.0

tively to the mass of material on'the chain a, and, consequently, readily provides for a .dribble feed, such a feed also incidentally re- I will now refer to Fig. 4 which, as alreadymentioned, shows a modification of the construction represented in the preceding iigures, the same reference letters being used and denoting the same parts as in such figures. Now, thel inlet to the trough b is in the form of a container or storage hopper c1 which is or may be fed with material in the same way as the trough vb in the other example, and the upper run of the chain a, which travels 4in the direction depicted by the arrow, passes beneath the outlet of the container or hopper and conveys the material over and past the end of the platform o which,v in this instance, is shortened as compared with that shown in Fig. l. When the material passes the end of the platform o, it falls l through the upper run of the chain a to the under run which conveys it to the outlet d, P

subject to the control of the flap g which is actuated as explained with lregard to Figs. 1,

2 and 3, the position of the flap g and its allied parts being reversed, as compared'with the l' first-described arrangement, to meet the travel of the chain a-which is in the oppositel direction to that adopted in such arrangement.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an apparatus for Vfeeding material comprising a conveyor having cross members -adapted to convey the material in one continuous mass, separate means supportingv said material while being conveyed by said conveyor, and regulator means located above the crossmembers of said conveyor for causing said conveyor to conveya predetermined number ofcubic inches of material above any definite portion of the conveyor after pass.-

' ing the regulator.

2. In an apparatus for feeding material.

tinuous mass, separate means supporting said material while being conveyed by said conveyor, regulator means located above 'the cross members of said conveyor for .causing said conveyor to convey a predetermined number of cubic inches of material above any definite portion of the conveyor after pass-A ing the regulator and automatic adjustable means acting in response to other mechanism for setting the regulator means.

4. In an apparatus for feeding material comprising' a conveyor having upper and lower runs and having cross members to convey the material in one continuous mass and regulator means located between the upper and lower runs of said conveyor for regulating the depth of said material While being conveyed by said conveyor at at least one point along the length of said conveyor.

5. In an apparatus for feeding material comprising a conveyor having upper and lower runs and having cross members to convey the material in one continuous mass and regulator means located between the upper and lower runs of said conveyor for regulating the dep-th of said material while being conveyedby said conveyor at at leastvone oint along the length of said conveyor and adjustable means for setting the regulator means.

6. In an apparatus for feeding material comprising a conveyor having upper and lower runs and having cross members to convey the material in one continuous mass, separate means supporting said material while be` ing conveyed by saidconveyor and regulator means located between the upper and lower runs of said conveyor for regulating the depthof said material while being conveyed by said conveyor at at least one point along the length of said conveyor. l

In testimony whereof, I ailix my signacomprising'a conveyor having cross members adapted to convey the material in ,one conV tinuous mass, separate means supporting sald material whlle belng conveyed by said j conveyor, regulator means located above the cross members of said conveyor for causing said conveyor to convey a predetermined number of cubic inches of material above any definite'v portion of the conveyor after pass- 

